System and method for sharing event information in a digital television system

Abstract

Disclosed herein are broadcast receivers and methods for sharing event information. At a sender end, event information for a broadcast is collected after receiving a command from the sender and a message is created that includes the event information. The sender may then select one or more contacts with whom to share the event information. Thereafter, the message and information on the contact is transmitted to a mobile device of the sender over a short range communication link. The message may then be automatically forwarded from the mobile device to the selected recipients. At the recipient end, the message is received from the mobile device of the recipient over a short range communication link and processed to determine if the message is a recommendation message. If so, the contents of the message are extracted and displayed on a television display of the recipient.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A broadcast receiver comprising:
 at least one processor; and 
 a memory storing instructions to be executed by the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured by the instructions to:
 collect event information for a broadcast event after receiving a command from a user; 
 create a message that includes the event information; 
 display a contact list of the user after receiving the command; 
 receive selection of at least one contact from the contact list; 
 detect whether a mobile device is within a predetermined communication range; 
 store the message until the mobile device is within the predetermined communication range; and 
 transmit the message and information on the at least one contact to the mobile device over a short range communication link when the mobile device is within the predetermined communication range. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The broadcast receiver of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to retrieve the contact list from the mobile device over the short range communication link. 
     
     
       3. The broadcast receiver of  claim 1 , wherein the short range communication link comprises at least one of a BLUETOOTH™ link, a ZIGBEE™ link, a Wi-Fi Direct link, and a data cable. 
     
     
       4. The broadcast receiver of  claim 1 , wherein the message includes at least one of identifying information for the user, event name, an event schedule, and an event description. 
     
     
       5. The broadcast receiver of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to synchronize the contact list with a second contact list stored in the mobile device after receiving the command from the user but prior to displaying the contact list. 
     
     
       6. A broadcast receiver comprising:
 at least one processor; and 
 a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a message from a mobile device over a short range communication link, wherein the message comprises event information for a broadcast event; 
 determining whether the message is a recommendation; 
 extracting contents of the message in response to determining that the message is a recommendation; and 
 displaying the contents of the message on a television display in a predefined format. 
 
 
     
     
       7. The broadcast receiver of  claim 6 , wherein the short range communication link comprises at least one of a BLUETOOTH™ link, a ZIGBEE™ link, a Wi-Fi Direct link, and a data cable. 
     
     
       8. The broadcast receiver of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive confirmation from a user prior to displaying the message on the television display. 
     
     
       9. The broadcast receiver of  claim 6 , wherein the message includes at least one of identifying information for a user, event name, an event schedule, and an event description. 
     
     
       10. The broadcast receiver of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine that the message is a recommendation based on at least one of an attribute associated with the message, an identifier associated with the message or a type associated with the message. 
     
     
       11. A computer-implemented method for enabling sharing of event information, the method comprising:
 collecting event information for a broadcast event after receiving a command from a user; 
 creating a message that includes the event information; 
 displaying a contact list of the user after receiving the command; 
 receiving selection of at least one contact from the contact list; 
 detecting whether a mobile device is within a predetermined communication range; 
 storing the message until the mobile device is within the predetermined communication range; and 
 transmitting the message and information on the at least one contact to the mobile device over a short range communication link when the mobile device is within the predetermined communication range. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , further comprising retrieving the contact list from the mobile device over the short range communication link after receiving the command. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile device of the user automatically forwards the message to a mobile device of each of the at least one contact. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the short range communication link comprises at least one of a BLUETOOTH™ link, a ZIGBEE™ link, a Wi-Fi Direct link, and a data cable. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the message includes at least one of identifying information for the user, event name, an event schedule, and an event description. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 11 , further comprising synchronizing the contact list with a second contact list stored in the mobile device after receiving the command from the user but prior to displaying the contact list. 
     
     
       17. A method for consuming shared event information, the method comprising:
 receiving a message from a mobile device over a short range communication link, wherein the message comprises event information for a broadcast event; 
 determining, by a processor, whether the message is a recommendation; 
 extracting, by the processor, contents of the message in response to determining the message is a recommendation; and 
 displaying the contents of the message on a television display in a predefined format. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the short range communication link comprises at least one of a BLUETOOTH™ link, a ZIGBEE™ link, a Wi-Fi Direct link, and a data cable. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 17 , further comprising receiving confirmation from a user prior to displaying the message on the television display. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the message includes at least one of identifying information for a user, event name, an event schedule, and an event description. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 17 , wherein determining that the message is a recommendation is based on at least one of an attribute associated with the message, an identifier associated with the message or a type associated with the message. 
     
     
       22. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to implement a method for enabling sharing of event information, the method comprising:
 collecting event information for a broadcast event after receiving a command from a user; 
 creating a message that includes the event information; 
 displaying a contact list of the user after receiving the command; 
 receiving selection of at least one contact from the contact list; 
 detecting whether a mobile device is within a predetermined communication range; 
 storing the message until the mobile device is within the predetermined communication range; and 
 transmitting the message and information on the at least one contact to the mobile device over a short range communication link when the mobile device is within the predetermined communication range. 
 
     
     
       23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 22 , wherein the method further comprises retrieving the contact list from the mobile device over the short range communication link after receiving the command. 
     
     
       24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 22 , wherein the message includes at least one of identifying information for the user, event name, an event schedule, and an event description. 
     
     
       25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 22 , wherein the method further comprises synchronizing the contact list with a second contact list stored in the mobile device after receiving the command from the user but prior to displaying the contact list. 
     
     
       26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to display shared event information on a television display, the method comprising:
 receiving a message from a mobile device over a short range communication link, wherein the message comprises event information for a broadcast event; 
 determining, by a processor, whether the message is a recommendation; 
 extracting, by the processor, contents of the message in response to determining that the message is a recommendation; and 
 displaying the contents of the message on a television display in a predefined format. 
 
     
     
       27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 26 , wherein the short range communication link comprises at least one of a BLUETOOTH™ link, a ZIGBEE™ link, a Wi-Fi Direct link, and a data cable. 
     
     
       28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 26 , wherein the method further comprises receiving confirmation from a user prior to displaying the message on the television display. 
     
     
       29. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 26 , wherein determining that the message is a recommendation is based on at least one of an attribute associated with the message, an identifier associated with the message or a type associated with the message.